Pictish Symbols

25 symbols to explore

Browse pictish symbols

25 symbols.

Triple-disc and Crossbar

Three disc-like forms and a crossbar have been provisionally identified on a worn Pictish stone from the River Don, now held by Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums. Heavy wear means even the motif's identification should remain cautious.

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Triple-oval Sign

Three conjoined flattened ovals form the finely incised motif known as the Triple-oval Sign on the seventh-century Sandside House 1 stone in Caithness. Its modern name describes the geometry; what the sign represented to Pictish viewers is unknown.

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Hammer and Anvil Pair

Two small forms flanking a Tuning-fork Sign on the seventh-century Abernethy symbol stone have been tentatively described as a hammer and anvil. The identifications are uncertain, making the pair an especially useful example of cautious archaeological naming.

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Tuning-fork Sign

A four-pronged geometric form on the seventh-century Raasay House cross-slab is conventionally called the Tuning-fork Sign. The resemblance gives the motif its modern name, but the object or idea it originally represented is unknown.

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Crescent and V-rod

One of the most distinctive signs of the Pictish symbol tradition, the Crescent and V-rod combines a decorated crescent with an angular rod and appears on surviving carved stones across early medieval Scotland. Its original meaning remains unknown.

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Double-disc and Z-rod

A hallmark of the Pictish symbol tradition, the Double-disc and Z-rod combines two linked circular forms with a sharply angled rod. The motif survives on carved stones including Aberlemno I in Angus, but its original meaning is unknown.

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Serpent and Z-rod

A sinuous serpent crossed by an angular Z-shaped rod creates one of the most striking composite signs in the Pictish repertoire. Examples survive on carved stones including Brandsbutt near Inverurie, although the motif's original meaning is unknown.

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Pictish Beast

With its long snout, curved body and unmistakably unfamiliar anatomy, the Pictish Beast is one of the most enigmatic creatures carved on Pictish stones. Its identity—and what it meant to the people who carved it—remains unknown.

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Eagle

A powerful bird form survives on the damaged Gairloch Symbol Stone in Wester Ross, where the carving is now generally identified as an eagle rather than the goose proposed in earlier records. Its original Pictish significance remains unknown.

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Notched Rectangle and Z-rod

The Notched Rectangle and Z-rod pairs a rigid, indented geometric form with the angular rod seen across several Pictish composite signs. A surviving example is carved on the Dandaleith Stone in Moray, but the form's original significance is unknown.

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Plain Serpent

Carved without an accompanying rod or geometric device, the Plain Serpent offers a striking animal form within the Pictish symbol tradition. The example on Glamis 2 in Angus survives on an eighth-century cross-slab, but its original significance is unknown.

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Salmon

A clearly recognisable salmon swims across the worn surface of the seventh-century Gairloch Symbol Stone in Wester Ross. The animal can be identified with confidence, but why it was chosen and what it meant within Pictish culture remain unknown.

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Mirror-case Sign

An ornamented disc-and-base form carved on Inveravon 1 is conventionally known as the Mirror-case Sign. The name offers a useful way to catalogue its appearance, but the object it depicts—and its original Pictish significance—remain uncertain.

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Animal Identified as a Lion

Among the animals carved on the ninth-century Ulbster Stone in Caithness is a creature identified in the heritage record as a lion. The identification is deliberately qualified, and neither the animal's precise identity nor its Pictish significance is completely secure.

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Boar

The pacing boar carved on the Knocknagael Boar Stone near Inverness is one of the Pictish tradition's most recognisable animal images, distinguished by its bristled back and stylised body ornament. Its original significance remains unknown.

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Double-crescent Sign

Two opposed crescent-like forms create the compact geometric motif known as the Double-crescent Sign, recorded among the carvings of the ninth-century Ulbster Stone in Caithness. Its name describes its shape rather than a known Pictish meaning.

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Mirror-and-comb Pair

A mirror and comb appear together among the carvings of Aberlemno I in Angus, forming one of the Pictish repertoire's most recognisable object pairings. The objects can be described visually, but why they were paired and what they signified remain unknown.

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Horse

An unmounted horse is incised on the stone known as Inverurie 4 in Aberdeenshire, preserved without rider, harness or elaborate accompanying equipment. The animal is identifiable, but its role within Pictish symbolism remains unknown.

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Bull

The complete bull known as Burghead 3 is one of six surviving Pictish bull-carved blocks associated with Burghead in Moray. The animal is securely identifiable, but the purpose of the repeated bull imagery and its significance remain unresolved.

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Cauldron Scene Motif

A large vessel forms the centre of an unusual carved scene on the probably eighth-century Glamis 2 cross-slab in Angus. Often described as a cauldron, it appears in relation to adjacent figures, but the scene's narrative and significance remain unknown.

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Step Sign

Near the foot of the Monymusk Stone in Aberdeenshire is a horizontally arranged stepped form conventionally known as the Step Sign. Its modern name describes the geometry of the carving, while its original Pictish significance remains unknown.

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Plain Double-disc Sign

Two linked circular forms appear without an accompanying Z-rod on the ninth-century Ulbster Stone in Caithness, creating the motif catalogued as the Plain Double-disc Sign. Its geometry is clear, but its original significance is not.

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Seated Antlered Deer

A left-facing antlered deer sits rather than stands on the Glamis 1, or Hunter’s Hill, cross-slab in Angus, giving this animal carving an unusually composed posture. Its identity is recognisable, but its Pictish significance remains unknown.

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Arch or Horseshoe Sign

A narrow weathered arch-shaped mark appears beside a human figure on the seventh-century Newton of Collessie Standing Stone in Fife. Known as the Arch or Horseshoe Sign, its name describes resemblance rather than a securely identified object.

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Flower Sign

A compact lobed form carved on the seventh-century Dunnichen Stone in Angus is conventionally known as the Flower Sign. The name captures its floral resemblance, but the carving is not securely identified as a botanical image and its Pictish significance is unknown.

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About pictish symbols

Pictish symbols and their researched historical, cultural, and practical relationships.

Curated sets

Collections with related symbols.

Collection overlap is shown against the symbols on this meaning page.

25 matching symbols

Pictish Symbol Stones Documented Marks Of Early Medieval Scotland C 300–900 Collection

Pictish Symbol Stones Documented Marks Of Early Medieval Scotland C 300–900 gathers 25 symbols shaped around documented Pictish composite signs, geometric marks, object motifs, and animal forms tied to named early medieval carved stones in Scotland, with each mark chosen for clarity, historical resonance, and a strong editorial silhouette.